The 'brain' behind Ron DeSantis' likely presidential campaign was involved in a major 'ghost candidate' scandal in Florida: 'If it's not illegal, it should be'

• The Florida pollster Ryan Tyson is expected to be a top advisor in Ron DeSantis' presidential bid.
• Tyson was at the heart of a 2020 political-corruption scandal in Florida.
• He funneled money from big-business groups to PACs backing straw-man candidates to split the vote.

The Republican pollster Ryan Tyson, who is expected to be the political director of Gov. Ron DeSantis' presumptive presidential bid, was deeply enmeshed in a major Florida political-corruption scandal that has resulted in criminal charges for five people, two of whom have been convicted.

At the center of the scandal are "ghost candidates" — those drafted to run purely to siphon votes from an opposing party in close races.